Occupant propelled swing



Patented July 1, 1952 ENT OFFICE OCCUPANT PROPELLED SWING Charles E.Petersen and Alfred C. Petersen, Logan, Utah Application November 24,1950, Serial No. 197,397

3 3 Claims. (01. 155-455) This invention relates to swings for childrenof the type wherein a seat is suspended in an A- frame structure, and inparticular a swing having a seat suspended by rods at the sides with therods depending from a horizontally disposed shaft supported by A-framesat the sides, and in which a lever, pull cord, and spring combination isprovided whereby an occupant of the seat propels the swing through thepull cord.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved operatingstructure whereby the occupant of a seat in a swing may efficientlypropel or actuate the swing.

Various devices have been provided to facilitate operating a swing by anoccupant thereof but where a direct pull on a cable over a pulley isprovided the force required to operate the swing is excessive so thatswings of this type have been discarded. With this thought in mind thisinvention contemplates a lever and spring assembly wherein a pull cordoperates a lever which is connected to the swing structure through a,spring whereby the direct pull of a cable against the swing structure isrelieved.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means forconnecting a pull cord to a swing suspended in a frame whereby anactuating force is applied through resilient means.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved operatingassembly for self propelled swings, particularly adapted for childrenwhereby a comparatively small child may propel the swing.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved propellingstructure for swings for children and the like which makes it possibleto provide a self propelled swing that is of a simple and economicalconstruction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies a seat suspended by a rod from a shaft supported in the upperends of spaced A-frames with a lever pivotally mounted in a braceextended forwardly of the frames and connected to the swing suspendingbars by a spring and also provided with a pull cord positioned withineasy reach of an occupant of the seat of the swing.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the general design of theswing and the arrangement of the parts thereof.

Figure 2 is a detail showing a longitudinal section through the upperpart of the swing illustrating the lever and spring assembly.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved swing operating mechanism of thisinvention includes a seat in suspended by bars H and [2 from a shaft I3with the shaft supported by A-frames having upwardly extended members l4and I5 at one side and I6 and [1 at the other, and with the swingactuated by a lever l8, one end of which is connected to the rods H andI2 through a spring [9, and the other end of which is provided with apull cord 20 having buttons or balls 2| positioned in spaced relationthereon.

In the design shown the seat [0 is provided with end panels 22 and 23, aback 24 and a foot rest 25 which is supported by braces 25 and 21.

The supporting rods H and I2 are secured by screws 28 to the end panelsand the seat is retained in operative position in relation to the barsby braces 29 and 30. A safety strap 3| may be provided across the frontof the seat with the ends mounted on the rods II and I2.

The upper ends of the rods I I and I2 are connected to the shaft l3 byhinges 32 and 33 and the shaft is suspended in the upper ends of theguide bars of the A-frames.

The lower ends of the bars or members 14 and it are connected by a crossbar 34 and a similar bar 35 connects the lower ends of the bars ormembers l5 and IT. The members I4 and [6 are also connected by a crossbrace 36 and a similar brace 31 connects the members It and I1.

The lever is is pivotally mounted by a pin 38 on and between arms 39 and40 extended outwardly from a cross bar 4| that is supported by outwardlyextended rails 42 and 43, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. The rail 42is secured to the bars l4 and [5 of the A-frame at one side by bolts 44and 45 and the rail 43 is similarly secured to the bars I6 and I1 bybolts 45 and 4?.

The pull cord 20 is attached through a loop 48 to an eye 49 in the outerend of the lever I8 and the wood balls 2! are supported in spacedrelation thereon by knots 50 or other suitable means.

The opposite end of the lever 18 is connected to a loop 5| of the spring[9 by a link 52 in an eye 53 and the opposite end of the spring isconnected to a cross bar 54 through an eye 55 also as shown in Fig. 2.The bar 54 is supported by the rods II and I2 through hubs 5B and 51 onthe ends thereof and the hubs may be provided with set screws 58.

With the parts arranged in this manner a child positioned in the seat I,by pulling on the pull cord 20 may exert a forward pulling force on theseat through the rods II and I2 and with the swing traveling back with apendulum action the seat may again be drawn forwardly whereby the actionof the swing may be increased to substantially any swinging actiondesired.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed .is:

1. An occupant propelled swing comprising a supporting frame structure,a seat suspended by rods in said frame structure, a lever pivotallymounted on the upper part of the frame structure, a pull cord suspendedfrom the outer end of the lever, and means resiiiently connecting theopposite end of the lever to the said seat suspending rods.

2. An occupant propelled swing comprising a supporting frame structure,a seat suspended'hy rods in said frame structure, said frame having anextension extended forwardly thereof, a lever pivotal-1y mounted on thesaid extension, a pull cord suspendedfrom the outer end of the lever,and means resiliently connecting the opposite end of the lever to thesaid seat suspending red.

3. In a swing, the combination of which comprises a pair of spacedA-frames providing a supporting structure, a horizontally disposed shaftsupported in the upper ends of the A-frames, a swing seat suspended fromthe shaft by spaced rods, a forwardly extended supporting elementpositioned in the upper part of the structure and supported by theiA-tframes, a lever pivotally mounted on the forwardly extended element,a pull cord depending from one end of the lever, and spring meansconnecting the opposite end ,of the lever to the seat suspending rods.

ALFRED C. PETERSEN. CHARLES E. PETERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The-following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED "STATES :PAT-EN'I'S Number Name z-Date 320,432 Elliott V June16,1885 479,524 Nicholson July 26, .1892

111393.084 Januszewski Jan. :3. 1933

